Everyday life · England
Location trackers and your choice
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This guide is for adults.
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What a tracker does
A tracker can help show where you are.
It may help with journeys you want to make.
Your choice matters
People should explain tracking clearly.
You should have time to ask questions.
A disability does not mean you cannot decide.
Devices are different
Some phones, watches and pendants share your location.
A tag for finding belongings works differently.
Ask what the device can and cannot do.
Who can see you
Agree who can see your location.
Agree when they can look.
You do not have to be watched all the time.
A tracker can fail
The battery can run out.
The signal can be weak.
The map may show an old location.
Plan who will help
Agree who answers an alert.
Agree what happens if that person cannot answer.
Practise what to do if the device fails.
Help with decisions
Ask for information in a way you understand.
Your wishes matter even if you need help deciding.
You can ask someone independent to help you speak up.
Your private information
Ask who keeps information about your journeys.
Ask how long it is kept.
Ask how to raise a concern.
Review your support
Tell someone if tracking upsets you.
Check whether another kind of support would work.
Call 999 if you are in immediate danger.
What you can do next
Ask what support fits your own goals.
Agree a backup plan before relying on a tracker.
Read NHS information about alarms and telecare Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- NHS: personal alarms and monitoring systems Web page
Types of alarms and questions to discuss before choosing support.
- CQC: consent to care technology Web page
Explains care consent and the separate rules for personal information.
- ICO: consent and personal information Web page
How organisations must explain their reason for using your information.
- Police.uk: online stalking and harassment Web page
Support if location technology is being used to monitor or intimidate you.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Location trackers, choice and privacy
Understand location-sharing devices, their limits and how to plan support that respects your choices.
Adults · England · General information
Start with what you want to do
A tracker can help someone you choose find your location if you need support. Begin with your goal, such as travelling to a familiar activity with more independence. Decide whether tracking would help you and what support you want. Having a tracker is not permission for someone to watch every journey. It should not be an automatic condition of going out. Ask about travel practice, contact cards or agreed check-in calls as alternatives.
Different devices do different things
A phone can share its location through a suitable feature or app. A separate GPS watch or pendant can report location and may include a help button. Check its connection requirements and any ongoing charges. Bluetooth tags usually help find belongings: they depend on nearby compatible devices, sometimes using a wider network of other phones. They are not the same as a continuously updating GPS service. An identification card or scannable tag may show contact details without tracking location.
Understand the limits
No tracker is completely accurate or reliable everywhere. Buildings, indoor use, weak mobile coverage and a low battery can affect updates. A map may show an old position rather than where someone is now. Check the time of the last update. The device must also be with the person. Test it on usual routes and agree who checks charging and faults. Have a backup plan for lost devices, poor signal or no response. A tracker cannot guarantee that help will arrive.
Explain tracking and ask for a real choice
Explain what will be collected, who can see it, when it will be checked and what happens after an alert. Use words, pictures or demonstrations that the person understands. Give time to decide without pressure. Where care technology relies on the person’s consent, respect refusal or withdrawal and discuss other support. Do not hide a tracker or use it to bypass someone’s choice. CQC advises getting legal advice before monitoring someone without their explicit consent.
If there are concerns about capacity
A learning disability or being autistic does not automatically mean someone cannot decide about tracking. First provide practical support to make the decision. If capacity is genuinely in doubt, assess this specific decision at this time. If the person lacks capacity, any decision on their behalf must follow the Mental Capacity Act, consider their wishes and best interests, and consider less restrictive options. A care plan or family request alone does not authorise monitoring. Seek specialist advice about objections, restrictions or disputed decisions.
Protect location information
Agree who has access and remove access when it is no longer needed. Ask how information is secured, which organisations receive it and how long records are kept. An organisation needs a valid data-protection reason, called a lawful basis, for using personal information. This is separate from agreement to care technology; consent is not the only lawful basis. Collect only information needed for the purpose and do not keep it longer than necessary. Ask for an accessible privacy explanation.
Make an alert and response plan
Some devices send an alert after a help button is pressed or an agreed area is left. Decide who receives it, when they are available, how they contact you and who takes over if they do not answer. A map or automatic alert does not mean someone is checking it. An alert does not mean you have done anything wrong. Practise the plan together, including what to do if the device fails. If someone may be in danger, seek appropriate emergency help; do not wait for another location update.
Review freedom, comfort and support
Review whether the device helps you do what matters to you. Check comfort, false alerts, privacy, costs and whether the plan still fits. Reduce unnecessary monitoring and consider alternatives if the device causes distress or no longer helps. Ask a social worker or advocate, someone who helps you be heard, for support with disagreements. If you believe someone is tracking you to control, frighten or harass you, seek help from a trusted person or the police. Call 999 if you are in immediate danger.
Words you could use
“Please explain how this tracker would help me, who could see my location and what other support I could choose.”
More useful links
- NHS: personal alarms and monitoring systems Web page
Types of alarms and questions to discuss before choosing support.
- CQC: consent to care technology Web page
Explains care consent and the separate rules for personal information.
- ICO: consent and personal information Web page
How organisations must explain their reason for using your information.
- Police.uk: online stalking and harassment Web page
Support if location technology is being used to monitor or intimidate you.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 9 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- NHS: personal alarms and monitoring systems Web page
Personal alarms, GPS devices, monitoring arrangements, suitability and ongoing costs.
- College of Policing: dementia safeguarding technology Web page
Technical differences between GPS, Bluetooth networks and non-tracking identification tags. The scheme itself is dementia-specific.
- Dementia UK: planning and location technology Web page
General tracker limitations, battery and coverage checks, testing, agreed access and responses. Dementia-specific scheme eligibility is not assumed here.
- CQC: consent to use technology in care Web page
Informed care consent, personal-information rules and legal advice before monitoring without explicit consent.
- NHS: Mental Capacity Act Web pageFuller information
Presumption of capacity, supported decisions, decision-specific assessment, best interests and less restrictive alternatives.
- ICO: consent and lawful bases Web page
Consent is one lawful basis; organisations must identify and explain the appropriate basis before using data.
- ICO: data minimisation Web page
Only collect and retain personal information needed for a defined purpose.
- ICO: storage limitation Web page
Justify retention periods and review and remove information no longer needed.
- Police.uk: online stalking and harassment Web page
Risks of unwanted location tracking and seeking police support.
- Police.uk: advice for missing people Web page
Call 999 when in danger and needing urgent help.